Business group urges support for early childhood programs

From staff and wire reports

September 9th, 2010

A report shows that interventions early in life have a higher rate of return.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has issued a new report called “Ready, Set, Go: How Business Should Support Early Childhood Education.” The report makes a compelling business case for why U.S. companies should invest in early childhood programs in their communities.

“Research shows that investments in high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age five yield high returns, including increased earnings and decreased use of social services,” said Karen Elzey, vice president of ICW. “Achieving a world-class education system and creating a highly-skilled workforce begins with high-quality early learning opportunities.”

Interventions early in life have a higher rate of return than later interventions, the report says. It cites research showing gains among participants of early childhood programs so significant that “they have resultedin positive outcomes through adulthood.” Specifically, participants in early childhood education were less likelyto be involved in criminal activity or be arrested; less likely to rely on social services, such aswelfare; less likely to have children out of wedlock; and more likely than nonparticipants toearn more, own a home, or own a second car.

“Arthur J. Rolnick, then-senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Robert Grunewald, associate economist, calculated an annual, inflation-adjusted rate of return of 16 percent for high-quality [early childhood education programs] for disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds,” the reports says. “These returns are based on long-term educational, social, and economic benefits, including increased earnings and tax revenues and decreased use of welfare and other social services—resulting in lower expenses for states and communities.”

A wealth of brain research concludes that early childhood education programs have a profound impact on children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. In fact, the first five years are the most critical in the development of a child’s brain, the ICW’s report states.

“Unfortunately, many children who do not participate in high-quality pre–K or early childhood programs are in general not fully prepared to begin school,” the report notes. As a result, achievement gapsdevelop well before children begin kindergarten—and research shows that students who begin school behind have a tendency to remain behind throughout their academic careers.

Giving young children a strong start early on can help counteract disadvantaged environments, the ICW argues, adding: “A high-quality early childhood education can help break the cycle of poverty.” And that, in turn, has enormous implications for future workforce development and the nation’s global competitiveness.

The ICW report shows how communities from several states, including California, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington, and Virginia, have collaborated with state and local chambers of commerce and businesses to address early childhood education. It also encourages business leaders to take the following steps to support early childhood programs: